LADodgerTalk.com – Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Vin Scully, Andre Ethier and the Dodgers

Last night, James Loney seems to get going a little as he went 2-4.  It’s a start, and all the Dodgers need from him is a typical year.  Anything else is icing on the cake.  Ted Lilly pitched very well and seemed to take up where he left off last year.  In case you forget, [...]

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Ladies & Gentlemen, let me introduce to your your 2012 Los Angeles Dodgers who now at 7-1, have the best record in Major League Baseball. Koufax didn’t do it.  Drysdale didn’t do it.  Neither did Osteen, Sutton, Valenzula, Messersmith or Kershaw.   Johnny Podres had the Dodger record (which was eight) until Aaron Harang struck out [...]

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BOXSCORE What I mean by that is that the Offensive Stars in each of the three games this season have been different.  Opening day it was Matt Kemp.  In game two it was the former Mr. Softee, Andre Ethier, and last night it was AJ and the kid (Dee Gordon). Chris Capuano looked like a [...]

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I admit that I make some predictions with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, however today I am deadly serious and will give you my honest assessment of how the Dodgers will do this season. First of all, none of us can anticipate exactly what will happen, especially in regard to new ownership.  Stan [...]

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I have been busy the last couple of days, so when I got back and checked the blog, I was dismayed that I had written Rivera would hit 28 HR.   Believe it or not, I meant 18 HR for Rivera, but hit the 2 instead of the 1.  OK,  I’ll just live with it, maybe [...]

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It sounds like Jerry Hariston, Jr. has an arm, or shoulder issue and can’t throw properly according to Ken Gurnick of Dodgers.com.  It’s simple – if he can’t throw, he can’t play.  He has to go to the DL.  His defense at multiple positions is his greatest asset. Justin Sellers deserves a shot at the [...]

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2011 was an aberration for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  For those of you who think the 2012 version of the Dodgers is not a very good team, I say:  “I beg to differ.  In fact, I will go as far as saying you are crazy if you think this is a bad team.” It’s popular [...]

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We don’t know: If Mark Ellis falters, could Alex Castellanos be his replacement?  Alex will start the season at AAA, and he needs to play 2B everyday, but could he be a long-term solution?  His glove isn’t Gold (at least not yet, if ever), but he has some “pop” and he’s a mature player.  Could [...]

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Several bloggers and some of their followers are lobbying for AJ Ellis to hit at the top of the Dodgers lineup, instead of near or at the bottom.  They point to his .360 OB%.  Wow!  Here’s the deal – it’s a small sampling – he has 244 AB’s in parts of 4 years, so opposing [...]

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Let me make something perfectly clear.  If Andre Ethier could quit being his own worst enemy, I would be his biggest supporter, but if I have to keep Andre Ethier as he is, I would trade him in a heartbeat.  The Dodger Beat Writers can’t and won’t say much about it, but Andre Ethier wears [...]

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Well the pitchers and catchers reported and we know who the Opening Day Starter is already.  Three guesses… Jon Weisman writes another excellent summary of the Dodgers Roster possibilities for ESPN/LA who recently fired him.  By the way, Jon, ESPN don’t know jack.  Your writing defines you, not the schmucks in the suits, and the [...]

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OK, it’s almost time for pitchers and catchers to report.  I’ll make some predictions for the 2012 season.  This is from the gut, not from any empirical evidence: Fed-Ex will be the Dodgers starting catcher before the season is over. Javy Guerra will be supplanted by Kenley Jansen as the Dodgers closer (in fact, I [...]

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I spent a couple of days last week going back several years and reading what the blogs who focus on baseball sabermetrics predicted about Dodger players, and what I predicted about those same players. Without getting into a pissing match, what I found was that our batting averages were pretty much the same.    I [...]

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Once a Dodger, you are always a Dodger,  and Gary Carter was a Dodger in 1991.   While he was just a shell of what he once was, he never lost his love of the game which he always played like a little kid, trying his best on every play to beat the opponent.  Gary [...]

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He may or may not ever hit 20 home runs, but based upon a 162 game season, James Loney will deliver the following stats: 32 Doubles 4 Triples 14 HR 87 RBI .288 BA .346 OB% .432 Slg % .788 OPS Near Gold Glove Defense While none of that is astounding, it is solid.  James [...]

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The devil being Scott Borasssss! Back on December 19th, 2011, I wrote this: According to Bruce Levine of ESPN/Chicago ”The Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers are reportedly the main suitors for Fielder at this point, with the Cubs still in the running.” At the same time, Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times reports just the opposite: “With six days until [...]

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It’s on the Radio and in print all around the blogosphere that Andre Ethier could be a “man on a mission.”  In part, he said: “It comes down to the security part, too, but it also comes down to unfinished business and I feel like, yeah, I’m facing that decision now where hopefully it doesn’t [...]

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It only took him five weeks to figure out and write what I wrote on December 13, 2011: If Prince Fielder really wants to come to LA, and I think he does, he and the Dodgers can still make it happen.   Two of his best friends play for the Dodgers, namely Matt Kemp and [...]

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I want you to consider a few questions and how you would have answered them on January 20, 2010: If I had told you that James Loney would hit more home runs than Andre Ethier in 2010,  would you have probably felt pretty good about the 2010 season? If I had told you that RDLR [...]

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It’s time to face the facts, Dodger fans -  James Loney and Andre Ethier are both “platoon players.”  Now, wait!  Before you get all bent out of shape, this is not a slam on either player – it is just stating the obvious.  Last year, both players hit .220 or below against LH pitching and [...]

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